Common Surgical Errors That Lead to Injuries

Oldham & Smith
|September 26, 2016

People head into surgery hoping to leave in better health, but complications and mistakes lead to additional injuries. Some of these injuries can be significant, even debilitating. While there are risks associated with any surgical procedure, patients do not consent to their surgeons, anesthesiologists or other medical staff making dangerous mistakes. If you were injured during a surgery, you may have a medical malpractice claim against your doctor or the health care facility. Heading to court may not sound appealing, but speaking with an attorney and starting a claim might be your only way to financially recover from the situation and hold the person at fault responsible. For more information on Florida medical malpractice suits, contact the attorneys of Oldham & Smith to schedule a free consultation.

Wrong Patient, Procedure, or Site

While there are potential surgical mistakes we probably cannot yet imagine, there are common errors that many patients suffer from including undergoing the wrong procedure or the correct procedure in the wrong place. It is entirely possible for a patient to undergo the incorrect operation. This could be a lack of communication between multiple physicians, but it can also be caused by a physician operating on the wrong person. The doctor may believe he or she is operating on Patient B when really Patient A is in the room.

Many people have the wrong area operated on. For example, a person might have the left foot instead of the right and correct foot undergo a procedure. If the patient is not properly marked or there is a lack of communication, a surgeon can begin to operate in the wrong place and end up creating an open wound that never needed to exist. This mistake, if realized quickly, can be fixed other than the patient having additional stitches. However, the surgeon may perform the entire procedure, altering the person’s body or potentially removing something that should have stayed.

Medication Error

When a person is wheeled into surgery, an anesthesiologist ensures that he or she is knocked out. Being unconscious allows physicians to work while the patient feels no pain. This takes the correct combination and amount of drugs as well as oxygen. A medication error during this time could lead to a patient waking up or feeling pain during a procedure. Postoperative medications are also crucial. Nurses or doctors can end up giving the wrong medication or the incorrect dose leading to unnecessary pain or an additional medical problem.

Unfortunately, it is well-documented that medication mistakes happen and affect patients. A study performed in-house at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston found there were 124 medication errors or adverse events in 277 surgeries. Of all 3,675 medication administrations, in and out of surgery, there were 193 medication errors or adverse events. The Harvard researchers found almost 80 percent of these mistakes were preventable.

Call A Tavares Medical Malpractice Lawyer

If you were injured during surgery or there was a clear mistake made and you are now suffering from it, contact the experienced medical malpractice attorneys of Oldham & Smith, call us at (352) 292-1620 When you agree to surgery, you trust that your surgeon and everyone else involved will do their best and operate on you error-free. When this does not happen, you suffer and deserve to recover.

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